One-legged man dominates basketball court

A one-legged man from Baybay City, Leyte, went viral online after he was seen dominating the basketball court despite the challenges he faced.

According to a “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” episode on Sunday, 39-year-old Eddie “Teng” Wenceslao is known to be a powerhouse at his local basketball court in Las Piñas City where he currently stays.

“Kapag nasa akin na ang bola, talagang itatapon ko na sa ere, sure na pasok po ’yan (If I have the ball, for sure I’ll make the shot),” Teng said.

Giovanni Bualan, the netizen who uploaded the video, said he was awed by Teng. “Nai-inspire din po kasi ako sa kanya kasi sobrang talented niya. Kahit na yung mga kalaban niya ang lalaki tapos malalakas, kaya niya makipagsabayan (He inspires me because he’s really talented. He can keep up even if his opponents are big and strong).”

Teng loved playing basketball since he was young.

Teng finished only Grade 4 before going to Manila to work as a messenger. However, in less than a year in the city, he faced a terrible accident where he lost his leg.

“Nagde-deliver po kami ng paninda po sana sa isang mall, bigla po may matandang tumawid. Gusto ko po siyang itulak pagbalik kasi po may parating po na jeep. Pero wala po akong nagawa eh. Pagkatalsik sa ’kin napunta  po ako sa gutter tapos sinundan pa rin uli ako ng jeep. Pumatong ’yung gulong sa kanang hita ko (We were going to deliver our goods to a mall when a senior citizen suddenly crossed the street. I wanted to push him back because there was a jeep coming. But I wasn’t able to do anything. When it hit me, I got thrown to the gutter. The jeep ran over my right thigh),” Teng said.

“Sobrang sakit po talaga kasi konting galaw lang po, nahihimatay po ako (It hurt so much that even a little movement would cause me to faint),” he added.
Because of the accident, doctors had to amputate Teng’s right leg, which almost made it impossible for him to play basketball again.

However, despite the challenges he faced, Teng decided he would overcome these and move forward.

At first, he played basketball in his wheelchair.  Teng’s friends supported him.
“Pinapraktis-praktis ko po dahan dahan po. Kahit may saklay ako lagi akong nadudulas. ’Yun dun po na nag-umpisa po ako maglaro-laro po, doon na tumibay po ’yung paa po (I practiced slowly. Even with crutches,  I kept slipping. That’s when I started  playing and my  leg eventually got stronger,” Teng shared.

To help him, his friends would always ask him to play with them.

“Sabi ko, ‘kaya ko naman po anuhin ’yung sarili ko.’ ’Yun magugulat sila nung maglaro na ako, sabi, ‘Uy shooter pala ’yan’ (I told them, ‘I can do this. They were  surprised once I started playing, they said, ‘he’s a shooter’)!”

It was also through basketball that Teng met  his wife.

Jessica, Teng’s wife, was his co-worker and a fan of his games.

Now, they have two kids who Teng supports by working as a mechanic.

Teng is also a big fan of basketball star Marc Pingris. In the past, he would go to Mall of Asia Arena and watch his game on the big screen. Afterwards, he’d wait outside hoping to catch a glimpse of his idol.

Little did Teng know that  he would one day meet his basketball hero.

News about Teng and his viral video soon reached Marc Pingris. In an Instagram post, Marc reached out to his fans in search for Teng.

“’Yung mga kaibigan ko may Viber group kami, nag-send sa group namin and then nakita ko (My friends and I have a Viber group together and it was sent there and I saw it),” Marc shared.

“Sobrang galing maglaro tapos nakangiti, parang walang iniinda na kapansanan. Parang napaiyak ako nang konti na natutuwa ako. Sabi ko gusto ko siyang makilala, gusto ko siyang ma-meet (He’s really good at playing and he’s smiling like he’s not struggling. I said I wanted to meet him),” said the basketball player.

Marc eventually met and spoke with Teng, who was beyond happy to see his idol!

“Na-inspire mo rin ako kasi ako minsan, gumi-give up na rin ako sa paglalaro ng basketball ’pag may sumasakit sa akin. Eh nu’ng napanood kita, parang na-inspire mo ako na sige laban lang! Na-inspire mo ako. Sobrang saya (You inspire me. After watching you, you inspired me to just keep fighting.  I’m so happy)!” Marc told Teng.
To show his appreciation, not only did Marc give Teng new shoes and an e-bike, but also prosthetic leg so he could walk without crutches!

Teng couldn’t hold back his tears and expressed how grateful he was.

“Deserve mo ’yan! ’Wag ka nang iiyak, pati ako, pinapaiyak mo na ako eh (You deserve it! Don’t cry. You’re making me cry),” Marc said. – Kaela Malig/RC, GMA News